Rozner: Cubs not lacking championship hunger
The Cubs could have called it a night at about 10 o'clock.
That was Sunday night, by the way.
They were down 3 runs and facing Aroldis Chapman, just the most intimidating closer in the game. They were on the verge of being swept at home, but they had no intention of going quietly.
Addison Russell drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth. After Jon Jay singled and Willson Contreras struck out, Albert Almora drove home the first run of the inning to make it 4-2.
Next was Javy Baez, who should have been out of the game. He had fouled a ball off the top of his foot and then homered in the same at-bat in the third inning.
Baez singled home a run.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Anthony Rizzo tied the game in the worst way possible. Chapman hit him in the arm.
Rizzo should have left the game as well. But he didn't. It's just not what the Cubs do.
Baez and Rizzo both played 18 innings. Six hours, five minutes.
When it ended at 1:15 a.m. Monday, with Kyle Hendricks striking out, the Cubs acted as if they had lost an important game.
The way they fought in extras was evidence that it was an important game.
The way they celebrated each time they made it through the top of an inning in extras was amazing.
The way Rizzo played with one arm and Baez played on one foot was ridiculous.
The way Kyle Schwarber went over the bricks to catch a foul ball was absurd.
The point is you can end all talk of a hangover.
A team with a hangover is sluggish, maybe even lazy.
A team with a hangover quits in games that seem out of reach.
A team with a hangover loses its hunger.
There was none of that in this nonsensical marathon to the point where you wondered why they care so much.
No, the Cubs haven't played great baseball, certainly nothing that compares to last year. But you can stop comparing last year to anything that happens this year or any other year.
The Cubs ran roughshod over the National League in 2017 and that's not likely to happen again.
No, they haven't gotten hot yet and they haven't hit consistently. They've scored more than half their runs in less than a third of their games.
People like to use the word "flat," but flat is how you look when your starting pitcher gets pounded in the first inning every night and you're constantly chasing the game.
No, the Cubs haven't played great baseball, but mostly it's been a combination of sporadic hitting in miserable weather, and poor starting pitching.
Going into Sunday's start - when Jon Lester pitched well - the last three outings for every starter except for Hendricks has been ugly.
Hendricks has a 1.04 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in his last 3 starts, but the Cubs have scored just 5 runs.
John Lackey has a 6.35 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP in his last 3 starts.
Brett Anderson has a 15.26 ERA and a WHIP of 3.28 in his last 3 starts.
Lester, before Sunday, had a 6.61 ERA and 1.96 WHIP in his previous 3 starts.
And Jake Arrieta went into Monday night with a 6.61 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP in his last 3 starts.
So there's your answer. It's not all that complicated. Poor starting pitching, an exhausted bullpen - which has done its job admirably - and a group of hitters that have yet to catch fire.
That will happen. You can be sure of that. And it has been only 31 games.
Hey, maybe the Cubs won't repeat. Maybe they won't find that magic this year. History is not on their side when it comes to World Series champs in the last two decades.
But it won't be because of a hangover and it won't happen because they don't care as much as they did last year.
The hunger remains in place.
Even in defeat, Sunday night - and Monday morning - was proof of that.
brozner@dailyherald.com
• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.